So Do You Really Want A Major Label Deal?

Posted on February 6, 2008 by Eric Hebert
Filed Under Music Industry Analysis |

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Okay, the argument has been going on for some time now, and I’ll be upfront and say that I haven’t spent a lot of time blogging about it. Why? Because I want this blog to be first and foremost a platform to introduce marketing tips and secondly to provide some music related entertainment as a balance.

The argument in question is one involving the major record labels, and whether or not it’s a good idea to sign with one of them. Landing a major label deal has been “the dream” of many a musician for a very long time. I’m here to say once and for all that I believe this is the dumbest thing a band could possibly do to themselves.

Now mind you, I’m talking MAJOR labels here, and any of their little affiliates. You have independent labels that have distribution deals and many provide great opportunities for artists. But my stance leans towards bands being their own label and using the distribution channels that they have access to.

I’ve read upteen articles over the past few months that have dealt with the RIAA, CIAA, and other organizations that represent the legal arm of the record industry. Their actions over this time have been a embarrassing portrayal of a dying business model and the desperation to keep whatever business they have left.

These actions have included suing the pants off of p2p network users - people like your brother, your friends, your cousins - hell, even your grandmother may be sued for “stealing” copywritten music using Limewire or Kazaa. Or maybe it’s you. Either way, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against everyday otherwise decent people in the hopes that these lawsuits will scare the masses into no longer stealing music, and that we’ll all just go back to buying CD’s like it’s ten years ago.

Stupid, stupid idiots.

The next aspect is one that spawned this blog post in the first place. After reading a recent article about how the RIAA wants to drop artist royalties, I began to think more about my rants of the past on being your own business and not relying on a label to make a career out of being a successful musician.

But then I read further and saw that Apple wants to cut your royalties EVEN MORE!

You see, Apple does need the catalogs of music held by the big labels to sell music. Anyone of the major digital providers needs them, because otherwise, we’d all go elsewhere. If I couldn’t hear bands like U2 on iTunes or Rhapsody, I probably wouldn’t give them my money.

Especially in Apple’s case. The main reason everyone uses them is because, for the most part, they have everything you want and it’s easy as hell to use.

So Apple has a business to look after, and every business wants to earn more money. So they want the artists to make less of a percentage?

The thing that really gets me is that it costs FAR LESS money to actually get music from initial concept to completed track that anyone can get then it did in the past.

So in other words, the operating expenses to run the “business” of music is cheaper. Production is cheaper, those no need for cd replication and traditional distribution, and using the web to push the music is cheaper than TV, Radio, and Print advertising.

So shouldn’t there be more money to give to the artists?

No. Why? Because the labels don’t know how to spend their money properly, and instead want to continue doing things the old way by betting on the same tired formula to get big bucks for their main acts. And everyday, more and more people are paying less attention to these acts, which means less money for them. And as this continues, they look to alternatives, which means scraping more money from their artists.

I say GREAT! to them, because that means more musicians will wake up and realize that less money equals a bad deal. They’re going to see that giving up their intellectual properties for a measly 4% profit just doesn’t make any sense, not in a world where they can set up their own recording studio, distribute their music on their own, connect with their fans, and all around mange their own businesses and control their own destinies WITHOUT the bullshit deals from the labels.

And keep 100% of the profit.

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